Voting Station

Derek Bentley

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Scapegoat

The Resume

    (June 30, 1933-January 28, 1953)
    Born in Southwark, London, England, United Kingdom
    Hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt
    Reportedly shouted 'Let Him Have It!' as friend Christopher Craig fired his gun at officers (November 2, 1952)
    Convicted as a party to the crime, by the English law principle of 'joint enterprise'
    Received a posthumous pardon (granted in 1993)

Why he might be annoying:

    He turns up Dierks Bentley results on Google.
    He had trouble holding down jobs and was perpetually unemployed as a result.
    He went through mental examinations that deemed him 'borderline feeble-minded' and 'indifferent, smug, self-satisfied and ready to tell tales.'
    He agreed to participate in an act of burglary at a London warehouse with 16 year-old friend Christopher Craig.
    There has been much speculation as to whether or not his yelling 'Let him have it' (disputed) to Craig counted as incitement to murder.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He is considered the victim to one of the greatest miscarriages of British justice.
    He suffered from epilepsy.
    He had been injured during Bombing of Britain when his house collapsed in on him.
    He was unable to read or write, had an I.Q. of 66 and the mental age of a four year old.
    His yelling 'Let him have it' was reported to have been in response to an officer saying 'Hand over the gun, lad' to Craig.
    He and Craig were both found guilty of murder, but Craig was too young to be hanged (but the jury added a recommendation of mercy for Bentley based on his mental health).
    It was expected that he would be granted a reprieve, but magistrates refused to commute his sentence.
    There were protests outside the prison when he was hanged, and two people were arrested and fined for damage to property.
    His case became a cause celebre, and led to a 50-year-long campaign to both get him pardoned and to expunge his conviction.
    He and Timothy Evans were pivotal in the successful campaign to abolish capital punishment in the UK.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying